On a day we'll always remember, Dodgers and Padres decide to forget about what happened in the past, for now

Sporting News | Apr 16

The phone calls came hours before anyone but team personnel were allowed into Dodger Stadium because Major League Baseball would have absolutely no nonsense on this day, one of its most publicized regular-season dates of the year.

Monday was Jackie Robinson Day around the major leagues, when players and teams honor Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier with tributes and uniforms all bearing his No. 42 on the anniversary of his major league debut. Robinson, while he played his share of what would today be considered “dirty” baseball and talked his share of trash from time to time, is remembered for not retaliating in the face of adversity, racism and belittlement.

So on this day commissioner Bud Selig—who instituted this occasion in 2004—would have no retaliation, no ugliness between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, teams that cleared benches Thursday in San Diego. Selig delegated the duty of relaying this message to Joe Torre, the league’s VP of baseball operations.

Torre made calls to Dodger manager Don Mattingly, Padre manager Bud Black and executives from both clubs, including general managers Ned Colletti (Dodgers) and Josh Byrnes (Padres) to deliver a singular message: Keep things in perspective on this day.

“That was basically the message,” Mattingly said.

“Yeah, I got the same call,” Black said.

Unfortunately, that message took on added meaning by the time it came. Not only was baseball celebrating Robinson’s legacy, but perspective also referred to the terrorist bombing in Boston earlier in the day.

As Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford and Cameron Maybin answered questions about what Robinson meant to them as African-American players, flat screens hanging in the clubhouses replayed the bombing at the Boston Marathon. More than a few times, each player would direct their attention to the televisions while they spoke.